The Best and Worst TV Shows of 2012

As we get closer to the end of the year, BuzzHub will be releasing various lists of our favourites and least favourites in different categories. We’re starting with a big one- the best and worst TV shows and episodes of the year.

The Worst Shows of 2012

2 Broke Girls

Don’t Trust the B— in Apartment 23

Law and Order: SVU

Revolution

Elementary

New Girl

The Best Variety/Chat Shows

In no particular order:

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

The Voice of Ireland

The Graham Norton Show

The Jonathan Ross Show

BBC’s Olympics Coverage

The X Factor UK

The X Factor USA

The Best TV Shows of 2012

11. The Middle

When this ABC family sitcom first started out, it seemed like a cheap Modern Family rip-off, but over the past few years, it has really come into it’s own, with original characters, great plots and a hilarious script. It’s still not in the same league as MF, but I don’t turn it off anymore, and that’s a good sign!

10. Once Upon A Time

It took quite a while for this fantasy-drama to pull me in, but the enjoyable storylines based around classic fairytales and the tons of beautiful people, I couldn’t help but become addicted to the adventures of Emma and the gang of beloved characters living in Storybrook.

9. Fair City

If you live outside of Ireland, the chances of you having heard of, never mind seen, this excellent RTÉ soap opera, are quite minimal indeed. However, I haven’t missed one of the four weekly episodes of this for many years, and I don’t plan to any time soon. This past year has featured some truly original and excellent plotlines, including one about a crazy schizophrenic and a fake teenage pregnancy. Watch it online at rte.ie/player if you have the time. It’s great!

8. Arrow

The pilot of this show, based upon the DC comic, was very poor, and I seriously considered not watching any more, but over the past few weeks, it’s gotten better and better, with each episode featuring less tokenish villains and action set-pieces, and more real character development for Oliver, Laurel and the rest. The flashbacks to Oliver’s time on the island are incredibly well-made, and make up for the shoddy camera work and special effects seen in the Starling City scenes. This airs weekly on The CW, so try to catch an episode soon!

7. Family Guy

Although he spent much of the year promoting his excellent directorial debut Ted (look out for my Best Films of the Year, as Ted features prominently), Seth McFarlane has still managed to produce some of the funniest ever episodes of his original animated sitcom.

6. Sherlock

The second series of BBC’s spectacular crime thriller wasn’t as amazing as it’s first, but the episode ‘The Reichenbach Fall’ was unarguably the best TV episode I saw in 2012. ‘A Scandal in Belgravia’ and ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ were also very well-made, but nothing compared to the incredibly trio of mini-films aired in 2010.

5. How I Met Your Mother

How Josh Radnor, Jason Segal, Neil Patrick Harris, Alyson Hannigan and Cobie Smulders managed to make seven successful films between them, whilst also starring in CBS’s timelessly funny New-York sitcom, is a mystery to me, but it goes to show how amazing a cast this show has. The scripts have faltered a bit over the past year, with the writers resorting to major plot staples like a birth and engagement to keep audiences interested, but the charm of the stars and the joy that watching an episode puts in your heart has yet to waver since the show began in 2005. May we continue to learn how Ted met the kid’ mother long into 2013….

4. Touch

From the first show, you could tell that FOX’s somewhat sci-fi drama was going to be excellent. You can say what you like about the acting, which at times has been pathetically bad, but the plots and scripts throughout have been excellent, with unpredicted ties between characters that no-one would have seen coming. The second series has been delayed until February 1st, but I am counting down the days until Martin and Jake’s return to screens.

3. The Newsroom

After scripting the disappointing Moneyball last year, Aaron Sorkin returned to what he does best this Summer- fast-paced, hard-hitting, funny, smart, current TV drama. ‘The Newsroom’ was welcomed with lukewarm reviews, but I watched the whole first season in one day, and barely moved the entire time. Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer, Dev Patel, Alison Pill, Chris Messina, Jane Fonda and John Gallagher Jr all gave spectacular performances, and with Rosemarie DeWitt and Patton Oswald signed on for the next series, this can only get better.

2. The Big Bang Theory

I was very close to making this my No.1 show of 2012, but I realised that the episodes aired this year have been the poorest yet, and the No.1 show has only gotten better recently. Although many of BBT season 6 has been laugh-free, some of the newer episodes have been hilarious, such as The 43 Peculiarity (pictured above).Jim Parsons has remained amazing, as always, as Sheldon Cooper, and Kaley Cuoco has only gotten better as Penny, the girl-next-door.

SO, YOU’VE READ ABOUT OUR 11th to 2nd FAVOURITE SHOWS OF 2012, SO…. WHAT COULD NUMBER ONE BE? IS IT A COMEDY? A DRAMA? SOMETHING OLD OR NEW?

THE WAIT IS OVER! THE BEST SHOW OF 2012 IS…..

Yes, Big Bang and Met Your Mother are funny, but there is a limit to the laughs they cause, and to the charm and sweetness of the characters. Modern Family has seen probably some of its greatest moments over the past few months, and the last year has been incredible for it. You’ll see in a moment what episodes we put on our ‘Best Episodes of 2012’ list, and there are some real crackers, but every episode really has been amazing and just plain fun to watch. Ty Burrell is the most versatile actor working today, as I have said before, and I would love to see him make a drama or get the lead role in a blockbuster. Jesse Tyler Ferguson gets the best one-liners usually, but the kids are just as funny. Sofia Vergara is the only slightly annoying actor, but even she is adorable sometimes, especially when she is interacting with Phil and Claire. Let’s hope this show continues for a long time to come….